10 Greenpeace activists arrested in Netherlands while trying to block hip carrying newsprint from Canada’s Boreal Forest

Press release - October 12, 2007
Ten Greenpeace activists were arrested today after blockading the freighter ‘Finwood’, a 170 metre-long ship carrying newsprint from Canada’s Boreal Forest.

Greenpeace activists blocked a cargo ship carrying newsprint sourced from the Canadian Boreal Forest. The blockade took place in Terneuzen, Netherlands.

The activists were preventing the import of Boreal Forest newsprint into the Netherlands and were protesting the forest destruction caused by logging companies and the Canadian and international customers that buy from them. For almost 10 hours, activists with Greenpeace successfully prevented the ship from off-loading several thousand tonnes of newsprint in the harbour of Terneuzen, Netherlands. The newsprint comes from Abitibi-Consolidated, the most important logging company in Canada, which is logging some of the last intact areas of the Boreal Forest.  

Today's shipment was destined for Dutch newspaper publishers.  PCM, Wegener and the Telegraaf Media Groep all buy from Abitibi with annual purchases of over 26,000 tonnes of paper. Abitibi is their most important Canadian source of newsprint. The action has furthered the debate in Europe about the importance of protecting the Canadian Boreal Forest and the importance international markets play in helping to make this happen.

For more information, please visit www.greenpeace.ca/boreal

or call:Kim Fry, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner, (647) 406-0664

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